Mary could not afford to take her sister to Italy or southern France.

“I will ask the Board of Missions if I can take my sister with me to Africa.”

Anxiously Mary waited for an answer to her letter.  At last the letter came.

We are sorry, but we must answer your question with a No.  We feel that to take your sick sister along to Africa would be an unwise mixing of family problems and missionary work.

What should Mary do now?  A friend told her to take her sister to southern England where the climate was warmer than in Scotland.  She wrote to the Board to ask whether they would let her be a missionary if she took out the time to take care of her sister.  The Board of Missions wrote: 

Dear Miss Slessor: 

When the way is clear for you to return to Calabar we will be glad to send you out again as our missionary.  In the meantime we will be glad to pay your missionary salary for three more months.

Mary was glad that she could go back again, but she would not take the missionary salary when she was not working as a missionary.  This left her with a sick sister and no salary.  She took her sister Janie and her mother to southern England.  They had been there only a short time when Mary’s sister, Susan, in Scotland, died.  It made her sad to lose a sister, but she was happy in the thought that Susan was now with Jesus her Saviour in Heaven.

After a while Janie was better and Mary packed up and got ready to sail once more to Africa.  Just as she got ready to go, her mother became sick.  What should Mary do now?  She took her troubles to God in prayer.  As she prayed, a thought came to her which showed her a way out of her problem.

“I will send for my old friend in Dundee to come and take care of Mother and then I can go to Africa.”

Mother Slessor agreed that this was the thing to do.  Soon the friend came and now Mary was free to go to Africa.  The weeks at sea were a good rest for her and she was in the best of health when she landed once more at Duke Town.  Ten years had gone by since she first came to Africa.

“Where should I go now?” asked Mary of Daddy Anderson after she was once again in the mission house on Mission Hill.

“This time you are being sent up to Creek Town,” said Daddy Anderson.

“Oh, I’m glad,” said Mary.  “That is the settlement farthest up the river.”

“You will work with the Rev. and Mrs. H. Goldie,” continued Daddy Anderson.

“That makes me happy, too.  They are old friends.  I met them on the trip the time before this one.”

As soon as she was settled in Creek Town, Mary worked harder than ever for the salvation of the natives.  She did not care about her health.  The only thing she could think of was how she could win more of the natives to Christ.  She spent very little on herself because the money from her salary was needed back home in Scotland.